On The Albany Project, a blogger hight "Exile on Ericsson St." wonders if the fight to stop the auto bailout -- or at least to force the UAW to make enormous concessions -- may be just a skirmish in the larger battle over the "Employee Free Choice Act."

The Employee Free Choice Act would make it a lot easier to unionize, so many business owners oppose it. There are problems with the bill as it is, since it could swing the pendulum too far. Right now, management has an opportunity to strongarm people prior to a vote; if this bill took effect, management wouldn't have that opportunity, but union organizers would. We need something that moves the pendulum without going too far, but given a choice between the current system and the Employee Free Choice Act I'd make the change.

Of course, the Republican Party is firmly against this bill, and they're doing everything they can to keep it from becoming law. It could be the subject of the first real filibuster in the U.S. Senate in a long, long time. Meanwhile, they may be setting the stage for that fight with the bailout.